Cameron Bancroft has stated that the Australian bowlers were probably aware of the ball-tampering situation that took place in Newlands during the 2018 series.
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The sandpapergate incident during the 2018 Newlands Test between South Africa and Australia caused massive damage to Australia’s reputation. In that match, Cameron Bancroft took yellow sandpaper from his pocket and tried to scuff the ball up. The cameras at the ground caught the act. The aftermath of the revelations stung world cricket and Australia badly.
Bancroft was banned for nine months. The-then Steve Smith been banned for one year, with an additional one year from captaincy. David Warner was also banned for one year. But, Cricket Australia banned him from captaincy for life. Darren Lehmann, the head coach of the Australian team at that time, tearfully resigned. The revelations later pointed out to a ‘toxic culture’ in Cricket Australia, where the need to win at any cost put immense psychological pressure on them.
During an interview with The Guardian, Bancroft revealed something that might fuel the fire of sandpapergate. “Obviously what I did benefits bowlers and the awareness around that, probably, is self-explanatory. I think, yeah, I think it’s pretty probably self-explanatory,” Bancroft said.
What does this statement of Bancroft suggest? Did Australia’s bowlers and the entire team know about the issue?
When Bancroft gave the interview, former England opener Nick Compton said it was not news anymore. Kevin Pietersen, in the past, had always maintained Lehmann had a huge role in the scandal. In the aftermath of the scandal, when Lehmann stepped down, Pietersen put out a laughing emoji tweet unable to believe that Lehmann did not know about the ball-tampering scandal.
The general belief was that the rot stemmed far deeper than the likes of Smith, Warner and Bancroft. This latest revelation might make the three of them look like scapegoats in the scandal. There has never been too much talk about Newlands after the admission of Smith, Warner and Bancroft. In 2019, Cricket Australia said they are still open to new information about the ball-tampering scandal.
In the thorough culture review initiated in the aftermath of Newlands, it pointed out that Cricket Australia had become “arrogant” and “controlling”. The national team had countenanced forms of cheating as “playing hard to win”. CA had allowed for instances of bullying under the cloak of “tough negotiations”. The How We Play factor in Cricket Australia stressed on aggression, combativeness and doing anything for a win.
Many Australian journalists did not buy the argument that this was the first time the team tampered with the ball. The culture review has had mixed success for Australia. They retained the Ashes in England after 18 years but they have lost two consecutive series against India at home. In 2021, the culture review was thrown out of the window in Sydney. Tim Paine’s antics against India was not looked at in a positive way.
Australia cricket changed forever with the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. At this point in time, Bancroft’s admission is like a drop in the ocean. The ‘perpetrators’ have had their punishment. But, the moral outrage at the decline of Australian cricket might continue as years go by.
